Why not you?

"The magic of a strong personal brand is when your name gets dropped in rooms you're not in and you're recommended for opportunities other people haven't even heard of yet. A strong personal brand sets you apart from the pack and secures your professional longevity because what you do today may not be what you do tomorrow.”- ALIZA LICHT ; Award-winning marketer and bestselling author

Aliza Licht has spoken on the stages of Good Morning America, The Today Show, TEDx, SXSW, and more. In 2009 she created social media phenomenon DKNY PR GIRL, an award-winning personality with over 1.5M fans worldwide. Her reveal as the person behind the Twitter handle generated over 230M media impressions.

Aliza recently spoke at FFC’s first? Nette Retreat as we at FFC believe that having a personal brand in this day and age as an owner, is frankly, table stakes. Whether it's sharing thought leadership, connecting with customers and building a presence with your community, founders need to be armed with marketing, communication, and digital strategies to make them stand out as leaders and can be a strong way to create competitive advantage.?

Some questions to ask yourself to start the process:?

• What's your platform??
• Where do you need to be showing up to make the most impact??
• Where and how do your professional and personal lives intersect??

Our takeaways from an incredibly impactful and actionable session that only further cemented our own belief that a personal brand is a cornerstone to success for today’s founders:?

1. BUILD YOUR NARRATIVE or someone else will. Shape your story the way that you want people to think of you.?
2. How you see yourself needs to MATCH how other people see you. Ask your network how they see you. A good question (and perhaps scary one) is “what are three adjectives you would use to describe me at work?”
3. Make sure that your name can stand on its own without your company behind it. That’s right: YOU ARE NOT YOUR COMPANY. But you can and must be a vehicle for your company’s growth by building your personal brand.
4. Not sure who you are? Create your story. A great place to start is to look at the major transitions in your life, as those were most likely points of friction. Think about your wins, too, and how they’ve shaped who you are today.?
5. The ven diagram below is a perfect place to start to figure out: what do you want to be known for? It should be an intersection of your work, your side hustle, and your interests and passions.
6. Only boost yourself amongst your boosts for other people: get people invested in, and excited about your wins when they happen by being the first to amplify their wins too. Aliza has a 5:1 rule for amplifying other people’s wins… for every five of theirs she’ll do one of her own.?
7. Don’t underestimate or undervalue the power of a social presence: YES you have to run your business, and that takes seemingly all your time and all of your energy.?
8. Not comfortable speaking to the camera? Film yourself while you’re doing something else. Oftentimes just part of your routine can be a nice way to capture content that feels more authentic for you.?
9. How you choose to show-up in person also matters. Your attitude, your dress, what you choose to align with. These are all unsaid signals of what you stand for, and who you are.?
10. Get comfortable with public speaking, even if you aren’t any good now. A successful founder has a succinct and pointed elevator pitch. Practice it, get a coach, nail it, create your beat, and get out there with it. Be unabashed about sharing your story. If you dont, no one else will either.?
11. “Repetition is reputation,” she reminds us - in ways that fill in your content strategy using your brand’s pre-determined voice and with respect for the guardrails you set upfront.

To combat self-doubt: The Post It Note Method -?

Aliza Licht’s “Post It Note Method” from her book On Brand is a great place to start to defeat self-doubt. At all times, you should have 2 handwritten post-it notes on your computer to keep you in check (especially in times of self-doubt).

Why Not Me? Because the answer is it CAN be you. In those moments of doubt, look at it and ask yourself “Why not me?”, you won't be able to find an answer.

If you’re in the room, you belong there. Instead of worrying about how you got there, think about what you’re going to do now that you’re in the room.?

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Interested in learning more about future Nette retreats? Add yourself to the waitlist here.